STORRS, Conn. – The UConn men’s hockey program is gearing up for their debut in Hockey East this fall as we take a look at the 11 other programs that make up the historic conference. The Huskies are scheduled to meet Merrimack College three times this season as we preview the Warriors. Season tickets for the Huskies 11-game slate at the XL Center in downtown Hartford are on sale now at UConnTickets.com.

The UConn and Merrimack series dates all the back to the 1960-61 season, the Huskies first season of competition. The Warriors hold a 23-3-0 edge in the all-time series as UConn didn’t pick up their first win in until joining the Division I ranks in 1998-99. The Huskies and Warriors have met 10 times since then with Merrimack winning eight of the 10 match-ups. UConn posted their first win over Merrimack on October 22, 2005, a 2-1 win in North Andover, Massachusetts. The last time these two teams met was November 10, 2013 at Merrimack. After falling behind 1-0 midway through the second period, UConn rallied for three-straight goals while goaltender Garrett Bartus posted 30 saves for the win. Cody Sharib tied the game at 1-1 in the second and Sean Ambroise scored the game-winner 3:50 into the third and Evan Carriere capped it off with an empty netter.

When the Huskies travel to North Andover October 18th their match-up with Merrimack will be the first official Hockey East game for the program. In addition to hosting the Warriors in a late January match-up, the two teams will face-off in the opening game of the 2014 Liberty Hockey Invitational at the Prudential Center on Halloween afternoon, October 31st.

Merrimack College Notes:

Merrimack College just completed their 25th season of play in Hockey East. The Warriors became the eighth member of the league for the 1989-90 season. Merrimack has never won a Hockey East championship. The Warriors best finish came during the 2010-11 season when finished fourth in the standings and advanced to the Hockey East Championship game before falling to Boston College.

Head Coach Mark Dennehy enters his 10th season on the bench at Merrimack in 2014-15. Dennehy was named the seventh head coach in program history and had one other head coaching stint, at Fairfield University during the 1999-2000 campaign. In addition to his head coaching duties, Dennehy also serves as the Associate Athletic Director at Merrimack. He was named the Hockey East Co-Head Coach of the Year in 2009-10.

The Warriors have made a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances on the Division I level, in 1987-88, advancing to the quarterfinals, and in 2010-11, falling to Notre Dame in the first round. Merrimack did win the 1977-78 Division II National Championship beating Mankato State and Lake Forest.

Merrimack finished the 2013-14 season at 8-22-3 overall and 3-15-2 in Hockey East, finishing 11th in the final standings. The Warriors were knocked out of the Hockey East tournament in the first round, falling 2-0 at Maine.

Merrimack placed a league-high 19 players on the Hockey East All-Academic Team. Hampus Gustafsson was named the league’s Top Scholar-Athlete, becoming the 13th player in program history to earn the honor.

Senior defenseman Dan Kolomatis was named captain for the upcoming 2014-15 season while classmate Justin Mansfield will wear the “A” as alternate captain this season.